Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba told lawmakers on Monday that Tokyo will not concede to all of the United States' demands in trade talks.
"If Japan concedes everything, we won't be able to secure our national interest," Ishiba stressed in parliament and expressed "grave concern" over Washington's inconsistency on trade after the administration of US President Donald Trump promised not to impose additional duties on Japanese goods after striking a trade deal in 2019, but then didn't exempt Japanese car imports from the recently announced 25% auto tariff on all imports to the US.
However, Ishiba expressed some optimism about reaching an agreement with the US, noting that Trump's attendance in the first round of negotiations showed that he places importance on reaching a deal with Tokyo.
